Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Genre: Romance/ Drama

Rated: M

JANA, SANA, JATE and a bit of SKATE

Thanks to Doublell who has helped me in this task! This story is dedicated to her.

Synopsis: An airport in Sydney and an unforgettable night. 48 days after a traumatic plane crash, Jack and Ana-Lucia meet again on the island. But things have changed, and other people are involved. Can things remain the same?

One night before the Oceanic 815

Chapter 1- The meeting

The light filtered through the glass windows of the bar in such a way that it formed a bright semicircle around the bar, illuminating the entire place with bright light.

Jack Shepherd wasn't enjoying the light interfering with his thoughts, because that afternoon he was feeling somber. He needed the darkness.

Jack had been in Sydney, Australia for only a day and a half, and he'd already seen and heard enough to want to desperately get back to The United States.

Australia was a beautiful country that deserved to be visited in the company of someone special. However, the reason that Jack was in Sydney wasn't a good reason at all. It changed everything.

A few weeks ago, his father, renowned ex-surgeon Christian Shepherd had left Los Angeles, apparently alone, to venture to Australia for no apparent reason.

Jack's mother, Margot, had called Jack to go to Australia to find his father and bring him back home. According to Margo, Jack was the real reason that Christian had left Los Angeles. She blamed her son Jack for his father's disappearance.

Jack wasn't convinced that he was the reason why his dad had left the country. He didn't like to think of his dad as a coward.

Their relationship as father and son had always been strained but really began to collapse after the alcoholism of Christian began to interfere with his work as a surgeon.

A pregnant woman had died on the operating table, because of his father's irresponsibility and malpractice, and Jack wouldn't allow something like that to ever happen again. So he turned his father in.

Jack was confidant that he had been doing the right thing when he'd turned his father in to the authorities. But now, sitting in that bar in Sydney, annoyingly bright and full of busy people, Jack asked himself if confronting his father had been the right thing to do.

In his head, Jack knew that he'd done the right thing, but in his heart his doubts terrified him.

Jack wasn't expecting to find his father dead in Sydney. He'd hoped to find him and talk with him and figure things out. Make amends somehow. But it was all over, now. He'd never have that opportunity.

Dr. Christian Shepherd had been found dead in Sydney. Now his body was waiting to be returned home to The U.S. via an Oceanic Airlines flight.

Jack was very sad and depressed. He'd been sitting in the bar at the airport terminal, drinking vodka while he waited for Flight 712 to board and take him and his dad's coffin back to Los Angeles.

Jack was distracted, caught up in his own little world, but that didn't stop him from noticing a pretty, young brunette that entered the bar.

She seemed so young, maybe 24 or 26 years old. The woman was beautiful, and her eyes showed the vivacity of someone young and full of life. Jack hadn't felt this kind of lively spirit for a long time. He was 40 and felt old.

The brunette sat on a stool near him, and in a deep seductive voice she ordered a drink from the bartender. "Tequila and tonic please…with a wedge of lemon."

Despite the pleasant distraction that the woman beside him was providing, Jack continued to remain with his head down, stirring the ice in his glass of vodka. He was so absorbed in that activity that he became surprised when the brunette turned to him and asked. "Why were you yelling?"

He looked over at her, but his mentally drained mind and another exhausting night without sleep made him too tired to answer her.

She persisted, despite his apparent indifference about her question. "The girl? At the check-in counter?" She said with a sweet smile.

"Sorry…do I know you?" He asked. He wasn't angry, only curious as to why she was asking him such questions.

"I'm on your flight. LA.?" She explained. She looked at him again and licked the lemon from her fingers, one by one in a seductive way. "So, your dad died, huh?"

"I thought you didn't hear what I was yelling about." Jack replied.

"I was being polite." She answered with a smirk.

Jack finally smiled. The girl was impertinent and daring but he liked her.

"Yeah, my dad died." He said with resignation.

"How?" She asked. She seemed interested in continuing their conversation. So did Jack.

"A heart attack." Jack said in the same controlled tone. No tears, no sorrow or regret, totally opposite of the way he was really feeling inside.

She nibbled on a snack sitting on the bar, and looked at his still empty glass of vodka. Her tequila and tonic was empty now, too.

"Not a drinker, huh?" She teased him.

"No. Not really." He replied.

The young woman hesitated for a moment before asking. "No ring because you're single or because you don't like wearing one?"

"You asking me if I'm married?" Jack asked, surprised at her boldness.

"Are you married?" She repeated the question with more confidence this time. Jack noticed that her eyes were so incredibly dark that it was almost impossible to see through them. He loved her eyes. Beautiful, dark and bright eyes. Bright with life…with courage.

Jack smiled at her, obviously flirting and said. "No. Not anymore." He looked at the bartender and said. "Can we get another tequila and tonic, please?"

She licked her fingers again and moved closer to sit next to him. "I didn't think you were listening." She said and smiled.

"So, what's your name?" Jack asked, suddenly very interested to know her name.

"Ana-Lucia". She said as she offered her hand out to him. They politely shook hands, but still somehow like old friends. Ana-Lucia was so different from other women that he'd known. The women he'd known would have expected a formal kiss on the cheek.

"So tell me… Ana-Lucia… why are you drinking tequila and tonic at ten to noon?" Jack curiously asked.

"I hate flying!" She confessed. "And they stuck me all the way in the back of the plane, where the wheels come down right under your damn feet! So, where are you sitting?"

Jack was really smiling now. "23 B."

"42 F. Want to trade?" She teased.

Jack gave her a big smile and was just about to say something important to her, but her cell phone rang. She moved to retrieve her phone that was ringing in the pocket of her brown leather jacket.

"Hey. Yeah, I'm in Sydney. Hold on." She looked over at Jack. "Sorry…"

"Jack." He said.

"Jack. I gotta talk. We'll have the next drink on the plane, okay?" Ana-Lucia asked hopeful.

"42 F!" He repeated.

"42 F. Right!" She smiled and got down off the barstool and started to leave, but before she left, she placed her small hand on his shoulder smiled reassuringly and said. "And Jack? The worst part's over."

Ana-Lucia left the bar talking on the phone. "They stuck me all the way in the back of the plane."

Jack's eyes focused for a few seconds on the girl's curvilinear shape in her tight pants. It was after she'd left the bar that he'd realized that while he'd been talking with her he'd forgotten about his problems.

Yes, he definitely would have that drink with her on the plane!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

No way! It absolutely was not in her plans! Ana-Lucia didn't want to spend one more damn night in Sydney. She was drained after spending two weeks driving a miserable drunk around town. All the man did was drink - day and night.

When Ana-Lucia wasn't driving him around town, she felt isolated…almost captive, in her own hotel room, waiting for her boss' next order.

"Let's be pathetic together." Those were the last stupid words of Tom, the man that she had met at the airport in Los Angeles. The same man that Ana-Lucia had traveled to Australia with. She never even knew his real name.

Tom had asked her to go with him to Australia as her bodyguard, and she hadn't been smart enough to say no! Ana-Lucia truly regretted traveling to Australia with Tom. What a disastrous situation that turned out to be!

When Tom invited her to Australia, the first thing that Ana thought of was how insane it would be to accept his invitation. But soon she was thinking, why not? "My life sucks! It's truly fallen apart. I've lost everything. I've lost the man that I loved, my baby, my career, my mother, my sanity…? What do I have left to lose?"

Yes, Tom was right that day, they were both pathetic, but she didn't need to be pathetic anymore. It was definitely time to begin to live again…to start over.

In one small way…maybe Tom had helped her.

Ana decided to finally leave Tom and his foolishness behind. She phoned her mother and asked her for her forgiveness… and for her help. "I want to come home, mama!"

"Then come home, m'ija." Her mother softly answered.

But destiny wasn't on Ana's side. Ana-Lucia became quite upset when she knew that Flight 712 had been canceled due to inclement weather and mechanical problems.

All passengers on this flight would be rebooked for the following day, but they would all remain in the same seat selection. Ana would continue to be seated in 42 F.

Ana-Lucia was upset. In the ladies room she'd checked her wallet and realized that she didn't even have enough money to pay for a hotel room. The airline wasn't supplying coupons or accommodations.

At that moment she regretted not accepting the generous bonus that Tom had offered her. Even so, she wouldn't ask him for his help. Ana would find a way, even if she had to sleep in an uncomfortable chair at the airport.

Ana decided to use the remainder of her credit card balance, and hope that her mother could wire her the rest that she needed. Then she could afford a modest hotel room and a decent meal for another day.

Thinking carefully about this she went to the airport exit to summon a taxi. The clouds were dark and ominous. It would be raining soon. A light drizzle started and Ana-Lucia ran to the sidewalk with her heavy bag on her shoulders and tried to flag down a taxi.

However, it appeared that the rest of the passengers of Flight 712, also, wanted a taxi to leave the airport before the storm. Ana-Lucia bumped up against a large man a few times. He was complaining about missing his mother's birthday because of the flight delay.

Ana tried to grab a taxi that was stopped in front of the glass doors of the airport, but she gave up this idea when she saw a young, blonde pregnant, woman summoning the same taxi.

"Oh sorry…you called this taxi first, right?" The girl asked with a protective hand on her tummy, and the other hand carrying a heaving bag.

"No. It's ok. You can take this one. I'll take another taxi!" Ana said as she opened the door of the taxi so the young woman could get in.

"Thanks, but we could take the same taxi so you don't need to get wet in this rain." The blonde woman politely offered.

"Oh, that's ok. Thanks, anyway!" Ana-Lucia smiled but politely declined and closed the taxi's door.

The rain became stronger, and Ana-Lucia was looking for another taxi when she felt a firm hand on her right shoulder. She turned to see who the hand belonged to and was pleasantly surprised.

"Hello again, 23 B!" Ana said with a beautiful smile on her face.

"Hello, 42 F!" Jack replied smiling back at her. "Our flight was canceled, but did you notice that those b*starts are going to make us keep the same seat selections for the next flight tomorrow?"

"Yeah, unfortunately." Ana answered. "Looks like I'm not going to escape traveling on the wheels of the plane!"

"The rain is getting heavier." Jack said. "We need a taxi."

"I think so." Ana said as she silently asked herself if she'd heard him correctly when he said we. Jack then put a protective arm around Ana's shoulders and summoned the next taxi that approached them.

Normally, Ana-Lucia wouldn't have appreciated these little demonstrations of male chivalry, but this time she didn't care. It was raining too hard now, and the airport was a pure chaos. If she remained alone, she probably wouldn't get a taxi until long after midnight.

Now the rain had increased enough to thoroughly soak them both. Jack was the consummate gentleman and opened the taxi's door for Ana and waited for her to enter.

When she was sitting comfortably inside Jack said to her. "Ok, you're not going to forget about our drink on the plane tomorrow!" He had a genuine smile on his face.

Jack was closing the door of the taxi and Ana's heart raced before she said. "Hey!"

Jack kept the door open but paused for a moment when Ana said. "Why wait for that drink tomorrow…when we can have it today?"

Jack grinned at her as he shut the taxi door.

To be continued…